Stephen F. Holder of the Miami Herald reports: Miami Heat rookie Caron Butler has accomplished something only the likes of David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Ralph Sampson, Terry Cummings, and Tim Duncan have: Win the NBA's Rookie of the Month award 4 or more times.

Butler was awarded the award yesterday after averaging 21.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.88 steals in the month of March. Butler has scored in double figures in 23 consecutive games- the most since Alonzo Mourning's 28 game streak in 2001-2002.

"He's had a Rookie of the Year season, forget about the month," Heat coach Pat Riley said Tuesday after practice. "He's actually picked it up. You see what he can do. If we went to him all the time, he'd be a 20-point-a-game guy."

Butler is making a case for the Rookie of the Year award, but is said to be too far behind Yao Ming and Amare Stoudamire to contend for the award.

Ming has won Rookie of the Month twice while Stoudamire has won the award once.